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To: Kenny Bunk; hinckley buzzard
Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on Socialism 28 Dec 1878

From the first paragraph:

But the evils which We then deplored have so rapidly increased that We are again compelled to address you, ... We speak of that sect of men who, under various and almost barbarous names, are called socialists, communists, or nihilists, and who, spread over all the world, and bound together by the closest ties in a wicked confederacy, ... strive to bring to a head what they have long been planning - the overthrow of all civil society whatsoever.
From Paragraph #9:
But Catholic wisdom, sustained by the precepts of natural and divine law, provides with especial care for public and private tranquility in its doctrines and teachings regarding the duty of government and the distribution of the goods which are necessary for life and use. For, while the socialists would destroy the "right" of property, alleging it to be a human invention altogether opposed to the inborn equality of man, and, claiming a community of goods, argue that poverty should not be peaceably endured, and that the property and privileges of the rich may be rightly invaded, the Church, with much greater wisdom and good sense, recognizes the inequality among men, who are born with different powers of body and mind, inequality in actual possession, also, and holds that the right of property and of ownership, which springs from nature itself, must not be touched and stands inviolate. For she knows that stealing and robbery were forbidden in so special a manner by God, the Author and Defender of right, that He would not allow man even to desire what belonged to another, and that thieves and despoilers, no less than adulterers and idolaters, are shut out from the Kingdom of Heaven.
There is more, but I think you can get the main idea that the Catholic Church does not approve of socialism.

Some other encyclicals that mention socialism:
Encyclical of Pope Pius XI on Reconstruction of the Social Order 15 May 1931
Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on Capital and Labor 15 May 1891

18 posted on 03/18/2012 10:12:54 PM PDT by ELS (Vivat Benedictus XVI!)
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To: All

This Rushbo take is fair at best. Here is a much better analysis.

American Catholicism’s Pact With the Devil

http://ricochet.com/main-feed/American-Catholicism-s-Pact-With-the-Devil


19 posted on 03/19/2012 3:45:33 AM PDT by rbmillerjr (Conservative Economic and National Security Commentary: econus.blogspot.com)
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To: ELS
t....he Catholic Church does not approve of socialism.

Thanks, ELS!

Now if only you had been around to explain that to Dorothy Day. But then again, it may not be too late to explain it to others.

20 posted on 03/19/2012 5:01:03 AM PDT by Kenny Bunk ((So, you're telling me Scalia, Alito, Thomas, and Roberts can't figure out this eligibility stuff?))
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